Numerical Solution of Sudoku Puzzles and Exact Cover Problems

Sudoku puzzles are fun to do, but also pose an interesting
computational problem. Formally, a Sudoku puzzle is an
example of what is known as an exact cover problem. Such
problems can be solved by brute force, in which all possible
combinations of possibilities are tested, however this
is time consuming and inefficient. A more elegant approach
involving the use of topology and elimination of branches
will be presented that can be utilized to solve exact
cover problems. Parallel shared memory solution approaches
will also be discussed.